ML82356131

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

The Black-headed Gull and a Bonaparte's Gull were together at the point, a little closer to the ocean side than the bay side of the cape. They were foraging at the water's edge with a group of 6 or 7 Ring-billed Gulls. And there were shorebirds wandering by. I first thought they were two Bonaparte's Gulls, but the deep red legs and bill, with black tip, made it a bird I had never seen. I photographed it and later looked it up. Lighting was sun with high thin clouds, which changed quickly from only cutting down the harsh shadows to almost full overcast (and back again). The Black-headed Gull was slightly larger than the Bonaparte's. Its bill was thicker and the slight gonydeal expansion was more pronounced than a Bonaparte's. I took the first picture of them at 1:44 and the last one at 1:50 pm. The wind had just shifted around more from the east, off the ocean. And it was noticeably colder. I stopped to put on gloves, and when I looked up both gulls with the auricular spots were gone. I didn't see them leave. About half the Ring-bills left shortly after that, heading around the cape toward the more sheltered bay side. And many of the shorebirds followed shortly after.

Technical information

Model

NIKON D2X

ISO

100

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/320 sec

Dimensions

1880 pixels x 1487 pixels

Original file size

877.27 KB